


A Day Like Any Other, Only With You

by thatonedudewiththename



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Cute Ending, Fluff, M/M, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 03:03:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5851600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonedudewiththename/pseuds/thatonedudewiththename
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being with Mark helped Joel to hate himself a little less.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day Like Any Other, Only With You

**Author's Note:**

> [joel voice] h hey now hey now

It figured that the first convention Joel went to was coincidentally the same one that le famous Youtuber Markiplier was going to; Joel had no ill will against him, since from what he knew Mark was a cool guy, and he figured he could get a picture with him for shits and giggles being that Vinny had done that last year.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't have that hard of a time finding the guy, as he just had to follow the throngs of people saying his name; down the escalators, across the main hall, up the escalators, and finally to the signing hall, where tons of people were gathered to take pictures with Mark and have him sign stuff. There was also that Jack guy and a few other people that Joel didn't know. Vinny's signings were over to the right—he could see Rev and KY flanking him on either side. It was almost the end of the signings, which was good because Joel didn't want to have to wait in line in order to get a picture with him. The first twenty people that showed up were let in and then the others were turned away, the security people telling them that they missed their chance, unfortunately. Joel went back around to the signers' exits and waited, scrolling through his phone for the last hour.

Finally, Mark and his friends said goodbye to everyone and made their way to the exit; Joel stood up straight and prepared himself to say something, but then he and Mark made eye contact, Mark eying him up and down and smiling fondly at him, and Joel forgot how to speak. He watched, face turning red, as Mark and his pals left the hall, Mark sending him this _look_ over his shoulder. Joel lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck—well, he hadn't expected that. Maybe he... shouldn't get a picture with him...

Sighing, he decided to just forget about it and walked out of the hall, heading towards the exits that led out onto the street. 

 

Later that night, Joel decided to go out for a drink or something, see the sights since this was his first time in America. He grabbed his jacket and room key and opened the door, not seeing the guy walking in front him until they'd already collided, Joel swearing and the other guy apologizing. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you!" 

Joel straightened himself and the guy out. "No, it's my fault, I wasn't—" 

When he stopped and actually looked at the stranger, he realized who it was and felt his heart leap into his throat. "Oh." He breathed. "It's you."

Mark saw him and smiled bright. "Hey! Joel, right?"

"Yeah, but how'd you..?"

Mark chuckled and scratched his upper arm, making the muscles in his arm and chest flex; Joel saw it and swallowed, chewing his lip as inconspicuously as he could while Mark said, "Let's just say I know of you."

"That's pretty cool." Joel said, he then stuffing his hands into his pockets and kicking at the floor. "Well, I was just about to go out for a drink."

"I was gonna go up to my room for the same thing. How 'bout you join me?"

"I don't wanna intrude—"

"I insist."

Joel had an expression of worry etched into his features, but he squeezed his arms to his sides and nodded. "I suppose I could, if you don't mind."

Mark smiled and waved his arms down the hall. "Shall we?"

"Lead the way."

 

Mark's room was a lot nicer than Joel's and had a mini fridge. He gave Joel a beer and himself a fruit water; Joel furrowed his brows at him and motioned to it with his beer. "Fruit water?"

"Can't process alcohol," Mark began, tapping his chest over his heart, "I could have a heart attack."

Joel raised his brows. "Oh. Rough."

Mark shrugged. "Not that big of a deal, not like I was a huge drinker anyway."

He sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him, which made Joel at first shift his weight and then shuffle over and sit beside him, clutching his beer so tightly he thought it would break. Why was he so nervous? It's not like Mark had anything against him, or wanted to hurt him. Then why..?

"Want to watch a movie?" Mark's voice broke through his thoughts, and he jumped, consequently causing him to spill his beer onto his pants.

"Oh shit, fuck, I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me tonight." Joel apologized.

Holding up a hand with a soft smile, Mark said, "It's alright, it's just beer. I'll get a paper towel."

Joel necked the rest of his beer before setting the empty bottle aside and watching Mark wet a folded paper towel in the sink, then squat down in front of him and begin to dab at the wetness on his thigh. Joel, again, jumped, his pale face flaring red and him swearing in Swedish. Mark looked up at him in confusion. "Something wrong?"

"I can do it!" Joel almost screeched, his voice cracking.

"Oh, right." 

Mark gave him the paper towel and stood up. "Sorry."

Turning up his mouth, Joel took it and patted his thigh until he thought he got all of the beer out, hearing Mark turn on the TV behind him. He threw the towel into the trash can by his bed and scooted further onto the bed until he was against the headboard next to Mark, who was flipping through the channels for something to watch and holding out a beer to him. "Anything on?" He asked as took the bottle and drank from it.

Mark shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it."

Leaving it on the music channel, he turned to Joel and suggested, "Wanna play a game?"

Joel pivoted about to face Mark and nodded once. "Sure, what?"

"Truth or dare."

"What are we, 10?"

Mark laughed, a warm sound that made something flutter in Joel's chest. "There's no age restriction on fun games, dude."

Joel rolled his eyes. "Yeah I suppose. Who'll go first, me?"

"If you'd like."

"Ok, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

After a moment of thought, Joel crossed his legs and said, "I... dare you to go out on the balcony and moon the world."

Mark cracked up, a hand to his chest. _"Really,_ man?"

"Yes, really."

With a weird noise, Mark rolled off the bed and stumbled to the patio, unlocking the sliding glass door and yanking it open. "I feel like I'm back in college." Joel heard him whisper. Then, in one swift motion, he pushed down his jeans, kicked them off, then walked out onto the balcony and pulled his pants down, his ass sticking out and facing the parking garage and hotels across the street. He stayed there for a good few seconds before pulling his boxer briefs back up and sliding the door shut. "There! That wasn't as bad as I'd thought it be." He announced while jumping back onto the bed.

Joel tried to ignore the fact that Mark hadn't put his pants back on, drinking more of his beer. "See? I knew you could do it."

"Yeah, you just wanted to see my butt!"

Joel felt his face turn red, his pale blue eyes flitting towards the wall to his right and then back to the bedsheets under him. "That's not true."

He didn't see Mark's reaction to his obvious fluster, but he did hear him ask, "Sorry, was that too much?"

"No! No, it's just the fuckin' alcohol. Uhm," Joel shook his head a little to clear it and smiled as best he could. "Do me now—fuck, I mean, ask me."

There was some kind of look in Mark's eyes that had heat pooling in Joel's gut; sure enough, he could feel his pants tightening. 'Fuck, fuck, I can't believe I'm getting a boner over this guy.' He thought desperately.

"Truth or dare, Joel?" Mark asked, scooching closer to him.

Joel began to sweat. "Truth."

"Why're you so jumpy around me?"

"B-because..." Joel grimaced inwardly at how unsteady his voice was. "I'm nervous."

"Why? I'm not going to hurt you."

By now, Joel was leaning way back from Mark, not maintaining eye contact and with one hand gripping the bedsheets. "I just feel fuckin' uneasy as hell around you." Technically, not a lie.

That seemed to sadden Mark, the brightness in his expression dimming. "Oh. I'm sorry; you don't have to be here if you don't want to be."

"No, I mean, I do want to, but, yaknow, shit."

Mark nodded. Joel drank the rest of his beer.

"My turn." Mark said.

Now that he was sufficiently buzzed, Joel's nerves were no longer frazzled and he could function more like a human being. "Truth or dare?" He asked.

"Truth."

"Hmm..." Joel contemplated a moment. "Uhm... how did you know who I was?"

Mark chuckled. "It's not a big mystery; I'm friends with PewDiePie, he's Swedish, and he knows of other Swedish streamers and Youtubers. He mentioned you one day and I looked you up. That's pretty much it."

Joel shrugged—seemed legit enough. "Alright, Mr. Big Time, ask me now." 

"Truth or dare?"

"I'll pick dare this time."

A sly smile from Mark, him leaning in to Joel and poking his chest. "I dare you to take off your pants."

"What?! Why?"

"Uh, so we can be twins, obviously. Duh!"

As much as Joel hated the idea due to his dick being at half-mast, he didn't want to be That Guy, so he, with slightly trembling hands and a cherry red face, stood from the bed and shucked his ripped jeans off as well as his shoes, kicking them to where Mark's were by the door. Swearing once more in his mother tongue, he turned around and sat back on the bed, staring down at his clearly evident boner. There was silence for a bit, Mark finally saying, "See? I knew you could do it."

They both laughed, though Joel's was more of a harsh rush of air. He glanced up to Mark to find him slowly looking him over, those pink lips slightly parted and twitching; it was making him feel hot. He shifted to cover his groin and made a small noise in the back of his throat that was almost inaudible. "Mark," He tried to say, but his voice cracked. 

He could tell that Mark was breathing a little heavier. "Yeah?" Mark said.

"Why did you want to hang out with me?

Instead of answering his question, Joel watched as Mark leaned into his personal space and undressed him with his eyes, those beautiful browns coming to settle on his crotch before flickering back up to his own eyes. "I think you know why," Mark murmured in a voice as deep as sin.

That sent a chill down Joel's spine; he tried not to let Mark know it affected him, but clearly the man already knew as he was biting his lip and palming himself through his briefs. 'Oh God, oh fuck oh SHIT!' Joel thought with wide eyes on the arousing sight, his cock jolting to life in his underwear. "I– I don't know..." He rasped, "I don't know if I can do this."

"Why not?" Mark questioned, pulling his hand away from the huge bulge in his briefs to instead ghost over Joel's thighs, moving more inward and upward with each rub. 

There was an expression of worry mixed with flustered on Joel's countenance, his toes curling more and more the closer the hand got to his dick. "I've n-never done this before," He said in a wavering tone.

"I'll be gentle, okay?"

God, Joel was so confused and aroused and filled with both curiosity and hesitation, but with the alcohol making him a little fuzzy, the latter no longer seemed to matter. "O..." He swallowed thickly. "Okay."

He was led by the waist to the middle of the bed and laid down, Mark's warm, slightly rough hands spreading him out and stroking over his skin, pushing his shirt up and off over his head; he suddenly felt very self-conscious at the exposure until he heard Mark purr deeply and saw his eyes rake over his body like he was taking in a fine art piece. "I love how soft you are, Joel... so much cushion for me." He told him in that same deep voice.

Joel made a small whimpering noise and clawed at the bedsheets. "Don't say s-shit like that..."

No response, just Mark taking off his shirt and revealing his muscled torso, its seeming strength and curvature giving Joel the urge to slide his hands over ever part of it and see what sounds he'd get Mark to make. Mark then slipped both men's underwear off, Joel ogling at how thick Mark's cock was—not long, probably only five and a half inches, but it was so thick Joel wouldn't know what to do with it if given the opportunity to touch it. 

"You're cute everywhere, aren't you?" Mark whispered as he took Joel's thin but not exactly long dick into his hand, using the other to support himself as he bent down to nip at Joel's neck. 

A strained, gross sound escaped Joel and he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands still gripping his sheets. "Please... I'm so..."

"'So' what?"

Joel panted and flared red. "So h-horny."

Mark groaned into his ear and he bit his lip. "That's what I like to hear..." 

He pulled back and straddled Joel, using both hands to cup Joel's face. "You're such a prettyboy, Joel." He murmured.

Joel didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing, feeling like he was going to shrink under Mark's intense gaze. Then, they kissed, Joel gasping and wrapping his arms around Mark, Mark taking charge of the kiss and sliding his tongue against Joel's, slipping his hands into his hair and gripping, but not tightly. Joel was so aroused that he didn't know what to do; he'd never been this horny before and it felt like the slightest touch to his skin would make him burst. It felt so good to be making out like he was with Mark, especially because it was Mark that he was kissing, the roughness of their individual facial hair rubbing together to create a charge that snubbed away any thought of that kiss being anywhere near platonic. Joel groaned and arched his back as Mark kissed his way downwards with an open mouth, hot breaths blowing over Joel's hypersensitive cock like water over a live wire, Joel covering his mouth to muffle the disgusting noise he made. "C'mon, baby, don't do that," Mark whispered, rubbing his hand over Joel's hips in an effort of comfort. "Let me hear you."

Joel hesitantly removed his hands and allowed himself to be loud, as flustered as it made him. Mark licked up the underside of his dick to the head, Joel arching upwards and his mouth falling open to release strangled sounds. "Gh–God... fuck!"

"You sound so sexy..." Mark rumbled from deep in his chest.

"Sh-shut up!" Joel said, his voice cracking.

Mark simply chuckled and spread Joel's legs, massaging up his inner thighs and around his cock and balls; as good as it felt, it was making Joel tremble and moan, which only made him more flustered and embarrassed. That was heightened when Mark replaced his hands with his lips and kissed the area with hot, open mouthed kisses; they moved upwards to his pelvic bone and hips, across his slightly hairy and chubby stomach and up to his chest, where Joel watched him suck on his nipples with spooned eyebrows, half-lidded eyes, and mouth open. The feeling was electric and Joel wasn't sure what to do; there was so much stimulation attacking his sensors that his brain couldn't seem to process it all, like the very rubbing of the sheets under him was enough to send him into a frenzy. God, he desperately needed to come, but there was no way he could tell Mark that and live with himself, so he just whimpered and touched himself. Mark took his hand away from his dick and held it beside his head, hovering above him and staring at him with lust-filled eyes. "Do you want me to make you come?" He asked in a voice as smooth as warm butter.

"Y-yeah," Joel managed to answer.

"How? Tell me what you want me to do."

'Fuckin' hell.' Joel thought in distress. He took deep breaths and said quietly, "I w... I want you to... do what you want..?"

Mark lowered his face to Joel's ear and whispered, "Will you let me fuck you?"

Joel hated how horny that made him. He nodded and made an agreeing noise, regardless.

Mark purred and rocked his hips against Joel's, making Joel gasp and dig his nails into the tan skin of Mark's back, the pain pulling a hiss from him. "I bet you'd feel so good on my cock... so warm and tight..." He moaned.

Joel gasped again and felt his entire body heat up. "Don't say s-shit like that..." He breathed.

"It's true," Mark chuckled, "You're probably so soft and hot."

Joel shuddered and dragged his nails down Mark's back. Mark kissed him, sticking his tongue into his mouth, Joel moaning and drooling, both men sliding hands into each other's hair and across skin, gripping and sighing and pressing their naked bodies as tightly against each other as they could. Joel felt a wet and warm finger press into his hole, slowly slipping inside him, the pain making him arch up and release a pained whine. "You okay?" Mark asked as he worked the finger in and out.

"F-fuck!" Joel cried. "Aaaaahh..."

Mark stopped his motions, which gave Joel time to adjust, feeling Mark kiss his neck and chest. After a minute or so, he started thrusting his finger inside him again, this time adding a second finger and scissoring them, curling and twisting them to widen Joel's hole. The pain was dulling now, spiking only when Mark added another finger, then dulling again. But then, Mark hit something inside of him, and the pain was forgotten almost immediately. "Oh FUCK!" He cried, his voice trailing off into Swedish swears. Mark grinned, pressing against his prostate harder and with a twisting finger. Joel curled up at the sensation, arching upwards, his boner rubbing on Mark's own and heightening the pleasure. 

Mark groaned, thrusting his hips against Joel's, the both of them whining, Mark finally letting out a deep groan that rattled Joel from the inside out and made a bit of precum leak from his dick. "I'm gonna slip inside you, okay?" Mark breathed.

"Y-yeah..." Joel mumbled.

He heard the sound of a cap opening and something being squirted, then saw Mark throw a bottle of lube onto the floor. He watched him stroke his dick with his lube-covered hand, grunting and biting his lip with a breathy moan. He could see that Mark was having a hard time stopping, so he nudged him with his foot. "Uh, s-save some for me." He whispered.

Mark panted, his chest heaving. "Right, right..."

He pulled Joel's ankles onto his shoulders and bent over him, lining up his cock to slowly, gently push inside of him, Joel's cries increasing in octave and volume with each inch gained. "Oh! Oh! God! Hhhnn, hhhnnn..." 

"Keep..." Mark gasped, "Keep m-making noises like that, and I'll... come too soon..."

Joel threw an arm over his eyes and groaned, his entire body on fire and an impossible feeling of fullness in his lower half. "Oh my fucking God..." He whined.

Mark said in a soothing tone, "You feel even better than I thought you would..." 

"Please..." Joel cried, "I can't take it!"

Mark began to thrust into him, slowly at first, and then deeper, deeper, hitting everything inside of him and driving him out of his mind. It was overwhelming, _Mark_ was overwhelming, and Joel didn't know what to do with himself other than make embarrassing sounds and scratch Mark's back and sides to shreds. 

Mark's entire body was trembling, his desperate breaths blowing over Joel's skin and raising goosebumps on it. He was moaning and whimpering, his entire face red, eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched; Joel could hear him saying "Joel" in a pleasured tone that was exhaled on each breath, and it was making him even hornier somehow. He was so close, so close, so close so close soclosesoclose—

"Mark!" He shouted with that orgasmic pressure building in his lower abdomen. "Mark, I'm—"

"A-already..?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm ssss—" 

Joel screamed Mark's name and came harder than he ever had, all over himself and getting some on Mark's face. He shook and whimpered, Mark still fucking him, though much faster and harder than previously, his hands fisting the sheets and him moaning louder and louder. "Joel... Joel... Oh God..."

The overstimulation was killing him, but Joel didn't want to be an orgasm killer, so he kept his mouth shut, even if the intense pleasure was painful. He bit down on his tongue and silenced any pained noises, only letting out the ones that didn't sound as bad. Mark kissed him softly, sliding his hands up his arms to lace their fingers together, pressing his lips over his cheek and jaw and over his neck, across to his shoulder and collar bone, still moaning all the while. "You okay?" He whispered as he fucked him.

Joel nodded quickly and clenched his teeth tighter with each thrust. "Mmhh, mhmm..." He groaned.

Mark slowed to a stop. "You can tell me..." He breathed. "If I'm hurting you."

"I didn't want t-to deprive you..."

Mark kissed him gently, pulling out of him with a grunt. "It's okay," He said between kisses, "I got to be inside you."

Joel looked away and bit his lip. "Please..."

"You're so cute when you do that."

Joel scrunched up his shoulders, feeling his body get all hot again. "Uhm..." He began. "Are you... still hard..?"

Mark nodded with a gentle smile; twisting up his mouth and managing to look at Mark in the face again, Joel gently pushed Mark back into his butt, twisting around and lying on his stomach with his face in Mark's crotch. Now, he'd never sucked cock, but he would suck ten if it meant getting to hear Mark's beautiful noises again. Wrapping his hand around Mark's dick, he slipped the head into his mouth and suckled, Mark crying out and gripping the back of Joel's head. Joel kept sucking, turning his head, drool dripping out of his mouth and slicking Mark's cock, making it easier for him to jack him off—he did it how he liked it, with a hard squeeze and twist of his hand. Mark whined and thrusted up into Joel's mouth, moaning out his name. Joel shuddered, sucking harder, pumping faster, using his other hand to finally feel Mark up, running his hand all over him, playing with his nipples and enjoying the sensation of Mark's large muscles tense and relax under his touch. He rolled Mark's balls in his hand, massaging them, squeezing gently, pumping out of time with the bobbing of his head. Pretty soon, Mark was crying out, each cry louder and deeper than the last. "I'm! I'm! Joel! J—AAHH!!" 

He came hard into Joel's mouth, his hips rocking back and forth as he rode his orgasm to completion; Joel pulled back and coughed, rubbing his hand across his face to wipe away the cum that was dripping out of his mouth. It tasted okay, actually, almost good, so Joel swallowed what was in his mouth and then licked the rest off of his hand. "That's hot," He heard Mark pant.

Turning red, Joel stopped what he was doing and placed a hand over his face. Mark laughed and wrapped his arms around him, kissing him and lying them both onto the bed. Joel still felt agonizingly flustered, but that was only because Mark was giving him that _look,_ the one that sent flutters through his chest and twisted his gut like taffy was being pulled in there. "Joel," Mark's deep voice cut into his thoughts, "Can I tell you something?"

He nodded, Mark holding him and he holding Mark with their bodies tangled together like an abstract sculpture. Twisting up his mouth, Mark said, "I uh... I want you to know that I've been wanting to meet you for the longest time."

Joel's eyes widened. "Really..?"

"Yeah," Mark chuckled nervously. "I looked you up and kinda... fell in love with you. And then I saw what you looked like and started having... thoughts."

"Why? I'm nothing special," Joel mumbled. "I'm not even that attractive... You're like a Greek statue, you could do so much better than me."

"I don't want anyone else," Mark told him gently, cradling his face with his hand and stroking his thumb over his cheek. "I want you."

"It's ok man, not everyone has good taste."

Laughing, Mark leaned in and kissed him, and God, Joel never wanted him to stop. He wanted so desperately to be with Mark, couldn't even imagine being away from him, but... 

Never mind that now. Joel wasn't about to let his own lack of self esteem ruin something good, something that would probably never happen again, so he kissed him back, almost desperately, until they both fell asleep.

+

Probably around nine the next day, Joel awoke to the feeling of Mark cuddling him tighter and whispering, "Don't leave me..." 

He was obviously still asleep, so Joel didn't say anything, instead reaching over the side of the bed for his pants, finding them and taking out his phone—the other one that he bought for use in America. The only number he had on it was Vinny's, and when he unlocked it, he saw that Vinny had texted him about ten minutes ago asking him to answer his door. Anxiety spiked in his gut as he replied, _"i cant, I'm not there"_

A few seconds later, Vinny responded. _"where are u then?"_

Should he tell him the truth? Joel didn't know what would happen, if anything. Ehh... best to omit some details. _"I'm in room 303. stayed over with someone"_

_"You what?"_

Behind him, Joel heard Mark mumble, "Up already..?"

The arms around him tightened their hold and Mark kissed his shoulder and neck. "I only just got up," He told him.

"Who're you talking to?"

"My friend Vinny. He was looking for me at my room and I told him I wasn't there."

"Mm." Mark kissed his shoulder again before letting him go and sitting up, Joel hearing him stretch and yawn. "Do I need to hide?" 

Joel chuckled and sat up, as well. "No, you don't need to hide. I don't need to explain myself to him."

Mark leaned over and kissed him, running a hand through his hair and smiling when he pulled back. "I'm gonna go wash up, okay?" He told him quietly.

"Alright." Joel nodded. He watched Mark climb off the bed, the blanket slipping somewhat dramatically off of him to reveal the rest of his naked body; in spite of the tan lines, Joel thought Mark's body was beautiful—every curve and ripple of muscle, the smooth hairlessness of his skin... he wasn't sure what to take in first. But, he didn't get a chance to decide, as Mark disappeared into the bathroom. Sighing, he stood up from the bed and gathered up his clothes, only managing to slip into his underwear and jeans before there was a knock at the door. From the bathroom, Mark asked, "Is that him?"

Not a second later, Vinny texted him that he was outside. "Yeah it's him." Joel answered. He walked up to the door and unlocked it, forgetting that he had no shirt on until he'd already opened it. "Hey, Vinny."

Vinny nodded once. "Hey man."

"I'm almost done getting ready."

Vinny looked down at his bare chest, then back up to his eyes. "I can see that."

Before Joel could say anything, he heard footsteps behind him, hearing Mark question from further in the room, "Is it okay if I wear your shirt? I can't seem to find mine."

Joel turned his head towards him and said, "Sure, it's right there on the bed."

When he turned back to Vinny, his eyebrows were raised so far Joel feared that they would fly off. "You didn't." He said.

Joel shifted his weight, not saying anything in return for a bit. "Yeah."

Vinny actively gasped, though it seemed more sarcastic than anything, his 'O' mouth turning up into a smile. "You _slept_ with Markiplier??" The parts after "you" were whispered.

"Don't make it a big deal, okay? He's just a person like anyone else." 

Mark appeared behind Joel dressed in Joel's shirt and his underwear, placing a hand on Joel's hip a and stroking gently over it; there was no way Vinny couldn't see the blush that spread across Joel's face when that happened. He shifted his weight again, watching Vinny's expression for any change as Mark said, "Hey! We met last year, didn't we?"

Vinny was unreadable, as per usual. "Yeah. Good seeing you again." He replied, giving a nod. "I'll let you two finish getting ready."

"I'll be out in a sec, Vin." Joel said.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not that important."

The door was closed, Joel sighing and scratching his head. "That wasn't so bad."

"He didn't seem to mind." Mark said as he put on his pants.

"Yeah." Joel swore in Swedish under his breath and laughed. "Woo, that's some fuckin' weight off my chest."

He turned around and grabbed a shirt from the bed as well as his jacket, putting on both and then his socks and shoes. Mark wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him once he was standing up straight, Joel smiling into the kiss and gripping Mark's back, making him hiss. "The scratches," Mark whispered.

"Right, I forgot. Sorry about that." Joel replied.

"It's ok..." Mark mumbled, leaning into Joel's ear. "I like being reminded of our time together." 

Joel gasped at Mark kissing under his jaw and down his neck, his hands grabbing at his ass, the action making their hips grind together; Joel could feel the hard boner that Mark had sticking out from his jeans, his body becoming warmer when he did. "D-did you really get... nnh," He tried to ask, "Get, turned on that quickly..?"

The only response he received at first was Mark purring and rutting against him faster, which was getting him off, as well. When Mark spoke, his breathing was laboured. "What, c-can I say... you make me really horny." 

Joel keened and bit his lip, letting his hands travel all over Mark's body, one finding its way to his ass and groping it, which pulled a groan from him. Not long after, they both came into their underwear, grabbing onto and pressing up against each other as tightly as they could, Joel heaving out breaths and Mark shivering. "Now I have to change my underwear." Joel told him.

Mark huffed out a laugh. "You can borrow mine."

After a couple minutes of changing, they were off, taking a pit stop at Joel's room so he could brush his teeth.

 

Mark split off from them to go do his own stuff, but he promised Joel that he'd text him every chance he got. When he was gone, Vinny nudged Joel with his shoulder and asked, "So, how'd you two meet?"

Joel rolled his eyes, but nonetheless explained, "I first saw him at the signings, then I bumped into him at the hotel and he asked if I wanted to go up to his room for a drink, so I did. The rest is fuckin' history."

Vinny nodded some and made an agreeing noise. "It was all his idea, huh?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"And he had no problem with bringing a stranger into his room?"

"He knew who I was before he talked to me," Joel laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "He uh, he said th-that after PewDiePie mentioned me, he looked me up and kinda..." He made motions with his hands. "As he put it, _fell in love_ with me that way."

"Fell in love?!" Vinny stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "He didn't even know what you looked like!"

"Not true," Joel held up a finger, "he said that when he found out what I looked like he started having 'thoughts', so."

Sighing, Vinny scratched his beard and his hand slipped from Joel's shoulder, Joel shifting his weight and fidgeting. "Vinny, I know you don't trust this," He began, "but I'm an adult and I make my own decisions, and I choose to believe Mark. I... I really like him, and he likes me for whatever fucking reason, so I'm gonna try not to fuck this up. Okay?"

There seemed to be a moment of hesitation, with Vinny just searching Joel's face, and then he nodded, a small smile breaking the monotony of his countenance. "Alright, Joel, I support you. But don't expect any dating advice from me," He said.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

 

A few hours later, Mark texted Joel to meet him in the signing hall, so he made his way there and found Mark to be waiting for him at the table, a gigantic line of people on the other side that ran all the way out of the doors. When Mark spotted him, he beamed and slid his hands up his arms to wrap around his neck and pull him in for a hug, Joel getting kinda stiff, but returning the hug and smiling too. Mark must've felt him tense, because he pulled back and asked, "Something wrong?"

"No, no, I'm just not really used to receiving affection from people in public." Joel answered, feeling the hand on his upper arm grip, and then fall away.

"We don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable," 

Joel laughed a little. "Well, how else am I gonna get used to it?"

Mark grinned and held Joel's hips, staring at him with this loving expression that had Joel feeling all warm and tingly from his head to his toes, his cheeks probably getting all pink. He lowered his gaze to Mark's chest and smiled a little when he saw that Mark was wearing his shirt, though it fit him better. "You look nice in that," He told him.

"Yeah? I thought it suited me," Mark agreed, then, in a lower tone, "I like how it smells like you."

Joel's mind fumbled with something to say in return, a semi– self-deprecating joke coming out as a result. "What, like pizza and tears?"

Mark laughed, his eyes crinkling and the pleasant sound of his laugh giving Joel this almost serene feeling that calmed him from the inside out, he chuckling a little, as well. "I like how you look in my shirt, by the way," Mark complimented him, "it's like we both have pieces of each other."

Joel nodded, a hand coming up to grip the front of the shirt he was wearing. "It's kinda calming, actually."

Before anything more could be said, one of Mark's friends that Joel didn't know came over and told Mark that the signings were about to start. "Thanks Wade, I'll be over right now." Mark replied, then to Joel offered, "Join me?"

Joel didn't see why not. "Sure, yeah."

They held hands until they were in plain view of the line of people, though Joel could feel Mark's hand on his lower back; it was comforting, in a way. "Guys, this is Joel, the person I was telling you about." Mark told his friends once they'd reached them, then to Joel saying, "Joel, this is Bob, Wade, and Jack." 

Wade held out his hand to shake. "Nice to meet you, Joel."

Joel gave a nod and shook the offered hand. "Same."

"We've all heard good things about you!" Bob said with a smile.

"Yeah! Mark hasn't shut up about ye all mornin'!" Jack practically shouted, but then again Joel hadn't expected anything different.

"He talked about me?" He said, fidgeting and fighting the urge to grin really wide.

"Constantly."

"Non-stop."

"Spoke t'e world of ye!"

Joel lowered his head and smiled, earning him a squeeze of his arm and a gentle kiss to his shoulder from Mark. 

The signings were opened and people came up to get pictures and have stuff signed and to give gifts, Joel staying relatively out of the way and just enjoying seeing Mark have fun with his friends, until there was a commotion over to his left; he turned to see what was happening and saw a person with a camera being escorted out of the hall from near where he and Mark had been standing earlier. He didn't think anything of it and turned back to Mark just in time to see a girl sneak up with her hand out as though to grab Mark's ass; Mark, nor anyone, didn't appear to know she was there, so Joel barked, "HEY!" 

The girl jumped and Mark turned around, seeing the girl and motioning for security to take her from the hall. He looked to Joel and smiled. "Thank you." He mouthed.

"No problem." Joel replied.

 

Roughly halfway through the signing, a younger girl, probably around 13, came up to Mark with a drawing she did and got it signed, then asking, very loudly, "Who is that?" 

"Who is what?" Mark replied.

The girl pointed over Mark's shoulder to Joel, who suddenly felt like the whole world had their eyes on him. Mark turned to Joel and smiled that sunshine smile that Joel would kill someone to see, looking back to the girl and saying, "That's Joel, he's... someone I know."

"Oh," The girl kind of narrowed her eyes and looked between them, nodding very seriously. "I see."

With that, she was gone, Joel feeling uneasy for the rest of the time he was there.

 

He joined Vinny, Rev, KY, and a couple other people for a panel that would then move into the next room for a signing, feeling more calm now than he had before, relaxing and enjoying his time with his friends and fans who'd come out to see them. There were only twenty minutes left in the panel, and some kind of commotion had broken out in the back rows; there was a large group of people that had started talking amongst themselves and passing a phone between them, and had been going on like that for the better part of 30 minutes, one of the members finally raising their hand. Vinny pointed at them and said into his mic, "Yes, what would you like to share with the class?" 

The person stood up and held up their phone. "This question is for Joel from all of us: Joel, what do you have to say about the rumour that you and Markiplier are dating?" They asked.

Joel spluttered on his water, coughing and getting, thankfully, not a whole lot on himself. He wiped his mouth and tried to dry himself off while Vinny asked, voice dead serious, "Where did you hear that?"

"There's pictures of them all over the place, I'll tweet them at you so you can see them."

Sure enough, they did, and Vinny and Joel huddled around his phone and looked at the pictures of Joel and Mark from earlier in the day when they thought that they weren't being watched; pictures of Joel and Mark with their shirts circled and then compared to others. Joel felt like he couldn't breathe, the room spinning and the edges of his vision turning fuzzy. "Do you need some air?" Vinny asked—his voice sounded like it was from far away. 

He didn't say anything, so Vinny helped him up and out of the panel, Rev saying that it was now over and that the signings would be in the next room. Once he was outside, Joel took out his phone and called Mark, Mark picking up on the second ring. _"Hey baby, what's up?"_ He greeted.

"Did you see the pictures?" Joel asked, his voice cracking.

_"What pictures? Are you okay?"_

"There's pictures of us everywhere, Mark! I just got asked in my panel what I thought about the rumours of us dating!"

Silence on the other end of the line for a moment, then Mark asking in a very serious tone, _"Show me."_

"Send him the pictures, Vinny." Joel said to Vinny, who nodded and tweeted the pictures at him.

A moment later, Mark swore loudly and asked, _"How the fuck did they get those pictures?"_

"I think I saw who the fucker was," Joel said, "There was a photographer near where we'd been standing who got kicked out of the hall."

_"Shit,"_

Joel heard Mark sigh, then take a deep breath. Vinny said quietly, "The longer you two stay quiet about it, the worse it'll get. Just a warning."

"Yeah, you're right." Joel agreed. "Fuck..."

 _"We have to say something,"_ Mark said, _"We can't leave it with no statement, it'll just blow up."_

"Yeah, yeah, uhm..." Joel thought a moment. "We should say that the pictures were taken without our consent and aren't like... what's the word in English... viable?"

Vinny nodded, so Joel went on. "Aren't viable proof of anything."

Mark was silent, then asked, _"Couldn't we just come out and say we are?"_

"I mean..." Joel began to shake his leg. "We could, but we shouldn't be forced to out ourselves just because some cocksucker with a camera got a few compromising pictures of us."

_"I don't like lying to my fans."_

"I don't like it either." 

Joel rubbed a hand over his face and exhaled heavily, his leg still bouncing and long, light brown hair falling in his face. "It's your call, Mark."

 _"...I'll make a post about it on my Tumblr, then tweet it so you can see it."_

Joel nodded, then remembered that Mark couldn't see him and said, "Alright... okay, yeah." 

_"You okay?"_

"Just... could really use a fucking drink right now."

_"I'm heading back to my room in a bit, do you want to meet up?"_

"Sure, I'll see you there."

_"Okay. Joel?"_

"Yeah?"

_"I... I love you."_

Joel felt his heart skip and his body become still, like time had stopped. "Uhm... I, love you too."

 _"See you in twenty?"_ Mark's voice was more upbeat now.

"Sounds good. Bye."

_"Bye."_

Joel hung up and put his phone away, placing his face in his hands and groaning like he was in physical pain. A hand settled on his shoulder, Vinny speaking seconds after. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Joel."

"You and me both." Joel's voice was muffled against his hands.

"Want me to go with you to the hotel?"

"Would you?"

"Of course."

Calling a cab, they headed to the hotel, Joel trembling with anxiety the whole ride.

Mark didn't show up until a little while later, and by then Vinny had left, saying that he was going to meet up with someone. Joel kissed Mark when they saw each other, hugging and holding hands, Mark speaking to him in a soothing tone, as though he knew that Joel was freaking out about everything. They headed up to Joel's room and cracked open the four pack of beer that Mark had brought, though Mark stuck with his flavoured water. Joel kicked off his shoes and took off his pants and jacket, sitting on the bed and taking a long drink from his bottle of beer. Mark sat next to him, also without shoes, pants, and coat, his phone and bottle of kiwi strawberry water in hand. "I'm gonna write that post, okay?" He said.

Joel set the now empty bottle down and nodded. "I'll need to use your phone to share it 'cause mine is trash." He replied.

Mark laughed and nodded. "You can use it."

"Thanks mang."

They sat in silence for a while, Joel drinking his second beer much more slowly than his previous one, Mark taking the occasional sip from his fruit water as he typed; Joel leaned his head on his shoulder and read as he wrote, nodding solemnly to himself in some points and saying, "Oooo." At other points. 

After about ten minutes, Mark handed the phone to Joel. "Got anything to say?" He asked.

"Sure." Joel answered, taking the phone and adding, "you fuckers. had a good thing going but ya blew it. ya blew it, kids. now i have to be mainstream. curse you, he-man."

He gave it back to Mark, who read over it and laughed, tagging the post as "#markiplier" and "#vargskelethor" before posting it and then sharing it to his Twitter. "There. Now you can do your thing." 

Again, Joel took the phone and signed into his Tumblr and Twitter, sharing the post on both sites (and following Mark back on Twitter in the process), taking a moment to marvel at how easy it was to use Twitter on an actually good phone, then giving the phone back to Mark, who set it aside. He rested his head on Joel's and asked quietly, "What do you want to do now?"

"Read the replies on the post." Joel answered.

"Me too."

There was one Tumblr user who reblogged the post with a picture of Joel and said, "you could do so much better tho", to which Mark replied, "what like you, who says rude shit that no one asked for about someone else's significant other? no thanks" and tagged it "#rekt". Joel laughed and cuddled up to him, drinking more of his beer. "Thanks for standing up for me, Mark." He said.

Mark kissed the top of his head. "You're welcome, babe."

One of Joel's followers reblogged it and said, "is this a ploy to get more well known joel", Joel replying, "no because then people will want me to do facecam and i break easily under peer pressure".

There were another few good ones, but mostly just people being supportive, and others who called out the photographer for being a fuckass. Some haters, obviously, but both Joel and Mark just ignored them. 

 

A while passed, and all four beers as well as the fruit water were gone, the two of them in their underwear and cuddling; Joel was lying on his back with his arms above his head, Mark on his side with a leg thrown over Joel's left, his hand ghosting over his pale skin—it sent shivers all up and down Joel's spine. "Joel," Mark began, "Do you want to move in with me?"

Joel's eyes shot open wide and his gut twisted. "What?"

"It's ok if you're not ready yet, I just..." Mark laid his palm flat on Joel's chest. "I don't want us to be apart."

"Me neither, but..."

Joel furrowed his brows as his voice trailed off and settled an arm around Mark's waist, tapping his hand up and down on the tan skin; he didn't know what to do or say, like yeah, he didn't want to be away from Mark, but... they'd only just met, even if Mark had actively been invested in his life before they'd started talking. Half of him wanted to wait, but another half really, really didn't want to. 'I'm tired of being lonely.' A thought popped into his head. 

He stopped moving his hand—you know what? Yeah. He was tired of being lonely, and what better way than to move in with someone who loved him? "Yes." He said.

He felt Mark lift his head. "You want to?"

"Yeah," He looked down at him and smiled. "Let's do it!"

Mark grinned and rolled on top of him, Joel wrapping his arms around him as they kissed.

+

Banging on his hotel room door woke Joel very suddenly from his sleep, Mark slurring, "...hh is it..?"

"I'll check." Joel mumbled and then detached himself from Mark, shuffling to his door and opening it to find Vinny and... "Jack?" He questioned, voice still groggy.

"We need to tell you something." Vinny said.

Joel stepped aside so they could come in, closing the door after them and then walking back to the bed, waking Mark up. Once they had the chance to fully rid themselves of sleepiness, Vinny and Jack sat on the bed, though they seemed kind of uncomfortable. "We..." Jack tried to say, "We kinda..."

Joel got the idea. "Yeah, I get ya. You banged."

Vinny fidgeted with his hat. "That same photographer that outted you guys got us, too." 

Mark and Joel made noises of annoyance, Mark throwing a hand up. "In-fucking-credible." Joel murmured.

"I hope the pictures weren't too bad." Mark said.

Jack shook his head. "No, thank God,"

"We already released a statement about it." Vinny said. "Kind of similar to yours, Mark."

"T'ere was also another guy who got his room number leaked," Jack told them. "T'e police're tryin'ta find the guy."

"I hope they get him," Joel said, annoyance on the edges of his voice. "This is really fucking stupid."

"You're telling me." Vinny said.

Mark leaned back on his hands and kicked his legs over the edge of the bed. "So, are you guys dating now?" He asked in a schoolgirl-ish way.

"Vinny? No way, he fuckin' hates relationships." Joel teased.

"It's up in t' air for right now." Jack answered Mark's inquiry.

Vinny scrolled through his phone as he cracked his knuckles, saying, "Good thing this is the last day of the con."

Jack stretched, multiple joints popping. "Yeah, 'm ready t' go home and not get my personal life blasted all over t'e internet."

Mark snorted.

"Shouldn't've become a Youtuber, then." Joel commented.

 

Last day of con usually meant quality time with fans for Mark and Jack, Joel making up for his lack of presence at signings, and last-minute interviews and pictures for Vinny, all of them doing their own thing until late in the day; Jack was the first to fly home, then Vinny driving back to Staten Island some time afterwards. Coincidentally, Mark and Joel had roughly the same flight departure time, so they took a taxi to the airport together and waited for their individual flights—Mark to LA, Joel to his little town in Sweden. They checked that they had all of each other's contact info and then relaxed as best they could in the uncomfortable airport seats, Mark leaning against Joel and holding his hand. "What the hell is that?" He asked.

Joel looked away from his phone in Mark's direction. "Huh?"

Mark pointed at his phone. _"That._ What the fuck is that?! It's ancient!"

"It's a first generation smartphone. You think I have the fuckin' money to upgrade?"

Mark sat up and shook his head, overdramatically rubbing his temples and placing a hand on Joel's shoulder. "Joel... Joel, Joel, Joel." He shook the shoulder and, consequently, Joel's whole body. "I'm gonna buy you a new phone, I can't stand seeing you with that, it's just... sad."

Joel held up his hands. "Noooo way, nuh uh, I can't let you do that."

"Too late, already happening."

Joel twisted up his mouth and sighed. "Whatever... just make sure it's cool-lookin'."

"You got it."

_"Flight 237 for Borlänge now boarding. Repeat, flight 237 for Borlänge is now boarding."_

Joel stood up and grabbed his luggage, Mark standing with him and holding out his arms. "Be seeing you?" He murmured.

Dropping his suitcase, Joel wrapped him in a hug and pressed their lips together, Mark smiling into the kiss and Joel tilting their heads so that they could deepen the kiss. Mark sighed and ran his fingers through Joel's hair, pulling away and whispering, "Go, before I make you miss your flight."

Joel pecked his lips and lifted the corner of his mouth in a sideways smile. "Uhm... I love you."

"I love you, too." 

And, with that, Joel picked up the handle of his suitcase and headed towards the gate.

+

One and a half months later, Joel found himself standing in the middle of his and Mark's bedroom, where they'd just finished unpacking all of Joel's bags as well as setting up his computer, which had been shipped over from Sweden the previous day thanks to Mark. 

Mark's room, previously very bare—bar a few gifts from his fans and some plushies here and there—now had Joel's posters and framed pictures littering the walls, as well as his clothes in the closet and in the dresser, both of their shoes lined up neatly on the floor by the door. This place, it felt...

Behind him, Joel heard the door open and steps walk up to him, bracing himself for the feeling of Mark touching him, which came not long after. "You alright?" Mark asked as he massaged Joel's back.

Joel smiled and turned around to face Mark, holding his hips and giving him a peck to the lips. "Yeah, just thinkin' about the feel of this place." He said.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno, it just... feels right, like I'm supposed to be here, I guess." Joel furrowed his brows in thought. "Like it's home."

Grinning bright enough to rival the sun, Mark cradled Joel's face with his hands kissed all over him. "I'm glad!" He said. "I feel that way, too."

"Yeah, but, you live here."

Mark rubbed a thumb over Joel's eyelid and lips and stared into his eyes with that loving look that always gave him goosebumps. "Now that you're here, it really _is_ home."

"Please," Joel said as he smiled. 

They kissed and fell onto the bed; what better way to break it in, right? 

There was a part of Joel that believed everything was going to well to be true, but he silenced it for now—being with Mark was more important. It would always be the most important thing, no matter what, because he had someone to love him whom he loved just as much, and, for a while, he didn't hate himself as badly.


End file.
